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Post by pantsonfire on Aug 4, 2025 21:55:39 GMT
With tariffs set to begin August 7th, 2025 and talk that these will actually go into affect...
Are you doing anything to prepare?
Have you looked over your weekly/monthly budgets?
Have you looked at where you could cut costs to help supplement increased costs for food and goods?
Have you reduced spending? And if so in what ways?
If anyone has any practical ideas, please share.
Also share if your city/community has any helpful groups starting to help assist with high cost of living and what they are so maybe other cities/communities can start similar groups.
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Post by Zee on Aug 4, 2025 22:04:31 GMT
I'm not doing anything different than I was before when I decided to go part time--just cutting the unnecessary stuff. Except the daily diet Coke from McDs  I shop almost exclusively at Aldi and do meal planning I spend very little on clothes I'm ok with using drug store brand makeup for most things, ditto skincare, hair care (of course there are some exceptions) Vacations are more like staycations Cut out unnecessary subscriptions (though I certainly view many as "necessary" or negligible cost, but that varies per household) Enjoy outdoor activities that are free Don't really eat out much Go thrifting for fun things I can turn into other things (I like repurposing) That said, I have too many pets and spend a lot of money on them. I'll never get rid of any of them but it probably wasn't a good idea to have a house full of pets who are starting to have vet problems :/ At least I can pick up extra hours if needed! I'm adjusting my hobbies and "business" focus bc some items and ingredients have become cost-prohibitive. Shipping is so expensive now and for heavy items, it's just not worth it. |
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,317 
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Aug 4, 2025 22:08:34 GMT
I got a part time job last year about the time the Orange Doofus was elected. That helps somewhat. I might have to find something besides coffee and chocolate as my self-care treats... my ground coffee brand went up $2 a bag this week, and I heard chocolate is going up soon  We stopped eating out very often when it started to cost $150 for a family of 6 to eat at a mediocre sit down restaurant... we cook/eat at home most of the time. That has saved some money. $150 is about what I spend per week on groceries. It's insane one meal out can cost that much. |
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dawnnikol
Prolific Pea
'A life without books is a life not lived.' Jay Kristoff
Posts: 9,460
Sept 21, 2015 18:39:25 GMT
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Post by dawnnikol on Aug 4, 2025 22:09:57 GMT
This is partly why I’m going back to work. Even the few bucks an hour I’ll make will hopefully help.
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Post by Scrapper100 on Aug 4, 2025 22:28:25 GMT
I stocked up on a few things a few months ago and of course have used many of those food items. I need to add a few things to my freezer but we will just cut back on other things. I am cutting back on craft spending not that I don’t have enough stash to last me a while. We do a lot of grocery shopping at Aldi of course I forgot to grab some chicken burgers when I was there earlier today. I have a FabFitFun subscription and I usually add extras but cancelled the extras that I normally get every season as I have plenty. This will be my cheapest box in years. I have also realized we have a few things that I can return that we don’t need. The discount places around here never really recovered after Covid so the cheap food store really isn’t a deal anymore . They do occasionally post that they have free stuff with purchase but it’s in the other side of town so I haven’t gone in months. We rarely eat out snd when we do it’s usually at one of two places that is reasonable or mostly reasonable. I think people are going to have to get creative. I hope there will still be food banks for those truly in need but know that many have had their funding cut as well as their supplies . |
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Post by Scrapper100 on Aug 4, 2025 22:30:10 GMT
I stocked up on a few things a few months ago and of course have used many of those food items. I need to add a few things to my freezer but we will just cut back on other things. I am cutting back on craft spending not that I don’t have enough stash to last me a while. We do a lot of grocery shopping at Aldi of course I forgot to grab some chicken burgers when I was there earlier today. I have a FabFitFun subscription and I usually add extras but cancelled the extras that I normally get every season as I have plenty. This will be my cheapest box in years. I have also realized we have a few things that I can return that we don’t need. The discount places around here never really recovered after Covid so the cheap food store really isn’t a deal anymore . They do occasionally post that they have free stuff with purchase but it’s in the other side of town so I haven’t gone in months. We rarely eat out snd when we do it’s usually at one of two places that is reasonable or mostly reasonable. I think people are going to have to get creative. I hope there will still be food banks for those truly in need but know that many have had their funding cut as well as their supplies . ETA. We have basically already cut most extras. Yes we could cut more but it won’t really help that much. |
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Post by Skellinton on Aug 4, 2025 22:38:18 GMT
We are definitely cutting extras. We already eat mostly at home and I cook from scratch, but groceries have gotten noticably more expensive the past few months despite what the Magats and Orange Menace say.
Coffee is a necessity and I run on chocolate, so that just sucks how expensive it is getting. Fortunately I am not a snob when it comes to chocolate, so I will eat whatever is cheap or what I bake.
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Tearisci
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,966
Member is Online
Nov 6, 2018 16:34:30 GMT
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Post by Tearisci on Aug 4, 2025 22:49:10 GMT
It's just me and the dog so I don't have a lot of expenses. I probably won't change much as my main hobbies are gaming and streaming movies and tv shows.
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jayfab
Drama Llama
procastinating
Posts: 5,748
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Post by jayfab on Aug 4, 2025 23:41:26 GMT
I am cutting out some things. I am using Fetch for shopping and scanning any receipt I can find. I use the points to buy gift cards for eating out. If you would like a referral message me. I have 25 bucks to use at Texas Roadhouse. And use gift cards I've been saving for eating out at other places. I'm also eating thru my pantry and freezer, I buy too much food and need to actually eat it.
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Post by hopemax on Aug 4, 2025 23:41:28 GMT
Ugh, my computer decided to update and eat my post just when I was wanting to hit send!
Anyway, my posts since the election have been pretty pessimistic, and this one will be too. Although a now shorter post, because I don't want to type it all. My parents were good while I was growing up about exposing me to budgets, finances, the cost of things, what they had as kids. Especially, my Mom who was one of five kids and it was very much, "Roof over your head, food on the table, don't complain." So most of my adult life has been about prioritizing, and making intentional life choices to live conservatively (smaller house, one car for all of our marriage but the last 6 years). Stuff that sucked at the time, but is reducing my stress now. We should have our house paid off in 2-3 years, and that is by far our biggest strategy for the future. Eliminating that payment, adds a lot of breathing room to the monthly budget. The global warning signs post-pandemic have been so worrisome, I prioritized certain things like international travel, and certain purchases because I expected that they would become less accessible to regular folks due to economics, war, climate change, etc.
2025 has been a rush to get things in "before the storm." We've spent a lot getting some house repairs done, car repairs, travel we really wanted to do. A lot. But 2026 and onward, I imagine our life is going to be a lot more like my family's 1984 life than our 2024 life.
Not only eating at home instead of restaurants, but the best meal of the week being Sunday, with the rest of the days being leftovers or cheap
Brownbagging lunch, even if it is common in your profession or location to go out
Hanging out with friends in the garage or backyard instead of a restaurant / other entertainment.
Water usage - frequency of showers, laundry loads, lawn watering
Energy usage - people congregating in one room, with one light and tv instead of all over the house, line drying clothes no dryer
Gas - used for going to work / essential activities, not fun stuff, eating out, kids activities, etc
Buying used, swapping or borrowing stuff with friends instead of Target / Home Goods
Risking the embarrassment and pain of saying no to the ways other people want or expect you to spend your money. I told DH that I don't want to travel for Christmas after this year and our families will just have to accept it. The 25 years+ we've done that, is more than I ever did growing up. Not once did we travel for Christmas.
I *love* to travel, but I'm working on accepting that it's just not going to be as accessible or affordable to regular folks for numerous reasons in the years ahead. Front load the top destinations while we still can, instead of assuming, "We'll be able to do that when DH retires." Road trip every couple years is feeling more realistic.
That's some of what I remember of what I wrote the first time.
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Post by mollycoddle on Aug 4, 2025 23:47:58 GMT
I refuse to pay more of these asinine tariffs than necessary. I have decided that I will buy what I need to buy, and not one jot more. I am looking at it as a challenge.
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Post by sawwhet on Aug 5, 2025 0:16:15 GMT
I'm shopping as per usual in Canada but I spoke to an online friend of mine today who said that lean ground beef was $9/lb in Ohio. 🤯 What's that all about? It's not imported. For reference, I'm shopping at a local store tomorrow which has LGB on sale for $4.99/lb in Southern Ontario. Obviously in Cdn funds.
Beef seems to be expensive everywhere these days. LGB is pretty much the only thing we buy unless there's a good sale. Pork, chicken and fish are the staples at our house.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 5, 2025 3:00:04 GMT
I’ve always been pretty frugal anyway so I’m a conditioned sale shopper. I know what things normally cost and I know when something is a deal so I try to buy things when they’re on sale and I watch for things to go on clearance. I love discount stores and we have a few places that sell discounted overstock stuff from Target, Costco, etc. I use coupons, loyalty programs and rebate programs like Ibotta and Rakuten. I also try to combine trips to save on gas.
I take full advantage of our local Buy Nothing group for both giving and receiving. I did buy some craft and sewing stuff when JoAnn’s closed but haven’t really bought anything like that since. I have a pretty big stash so there really isn’t a lot I would need to buy to make most of the stuff I want to make. We don’t go out to eat as often as we used to pre-pandemic, and we also don’t go out much for entertainment so we utilize our streaming subscriptions at home and at the cabin so won’t give those up.
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Post by katlady on Aug 5, 2025 3:15:04 GMT
who said that lean ground beef was $9/lb in Ohio. 🤯 What's that all about? It's not imported. Supply and demand. There is a shrinking cattle supply and increasing demand. Beef is expensive right now. I truly don't need any more clothes or art/craft supplies. I don't even need to buy many books because I have a huge TBR pile. The house is paid for, our cars are older, but paid for. I did want a new car this year, but that time window has probably passed now. Unless we go out and buy something this month, which I doubt. We have no major travel plans, and nothing planned internationally. So our biggest expenditures are going to be food, gas, and utilities. I'll still retail shop, but I'll be more aware of the prices and be more selective. We have looked into cutting back on some streaming and subscription services. For now, we are keeping our gym membership. The gym is our "community". My last overseas purchased arrived today, I was worried about that getting hit with a tariff, but it wasn't. But no more overseas orders for now. |
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Aug 5, 2025 3:36:16 GMT
We also utilize our local buy nothing group for giving and receiving. We shop at Safeway once a month with their Scene card sale. Majority of fuel and groceries are from Costco. Weekly sales for Costco come in out e-mail on Sundays. All bills paid for monthly on Costco credit card. They give us a rebate at the end of the year. Our son started tomatoes etc indoors. We planted produce outside. I picked and washed parsley yesterday then dehydrated it. Will also be processing some for the freezer. Going to share some with friends tomorrow.
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Post by epeanymous on Aug 5, 2025 4:25:06 GMT
The last two rounds I stocked up on some things. I will probably lay in coffee. Otherwise I think I am going to wait and see what happens. Living in chaos is awful.
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Post by ntsf on Aug 5, 2025 6:34:20 GMT
I am in a fortunate position not to have to worry too much.
so I am upping my contributions to food banks, and diaper bank and such...
I am very worried for our country
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,635
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Post by amom23 on Aug 5, 2025 11:52:46 GMT
We are doing the usual stuff like eating mostly at home. I shop the most at Walmart since prices are cheaper than my local grocery store. We have tried really hard to cut back on nonessential spending. There is an expensive home project we are getting ready to start. DH ordered the material extra early to get ahead of any tariffs since the product is made and shipped from Canada.
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Post by Merge on Aug 5, 2025 12:59:54 GMT
I refuse to pay more of these asinine tariffs than necessary. I have decided that I will buy what I need to buy, and not one jot more. I am looking at it as a challenge. That's where I am, too. Whether I can afford it or not, I refuse to pay higher taxes so the uber wealthy can pay less. And that's exactly what these tariffs are. If I must buy something, I do my best to find it second-hand. We've pared down our expenses a lot since DH and I are both semi-retired. Only one car between us. We rarely eat out or order in these days. We're working on paying off some debt we accrued in the last year of younger DD's undergrad. She left for grad school and is off the payroll literally today, so that will save us some money. We've found with both of our kids that they can insure themselves (both car and health insurance) a lot more cheaply than we can keep them on our policies, so we have them get their own policies even if we sometimes have to help with the premiums. |
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Aug 5, 2025 14:10:58 GMT
Years ago we used to use Purex brand name toilet paper. They kept reducing the sizes of the rolls. I sent in a complaint then they sent me two coupons for $1.50 off. I used the coupons. We then switched to Kirkland brand by Costco. They only downsized the rolls once.
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Post by melanell on Aug 5, 2025 14:53:33 GMT
Our biggest issue is food waste. Even now.
We bought a new fridge that fit our space but which seems to cause our foods to get "lost" and things keep being thrown away despite meal planning.
So we've decide to inventory and rearrange the fridge twice a week instead of just once, which is what we had been doing, to try to catch foods before they go bad.
I have also talked to our immediate family about a reduction of holiday spending and an increase on spending holiday time together.
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Post by Linda on Aug 5, 2025 16:07:42 GMT
we've decide to inventory and rearrange the fridge twice a week instead of just once, which is what we had been doing, to try to catch foods before they go bad. We're doing a planned leftover night once a week - where I pull all the bits and bobs out of the fridge and we all choose our dinner from the buffet of (leftover) options. I'm also being more intentional about freezing leftovers (AND making sure they go back on the menu) - tonight we're having Greek meatball bowls with the meatballs I froze last week as leftovers from our Greek meatball pitas. A lot of our changes have already been made - I just need to keep fine tuning them if that makes sense. Cutting back on food waste, eating from the pantry and freezer, USING our farm box every week (I love it both because it supports a local farmer AND gives us a good selection of produce regularly), I probably need to go back to baking bread - I've been turning extra squash into quick breads. I've also been making the occasional small batch of jam with leftover fruit. I do need to cut back on chocolate...for $$ and health reasons but that one is tough. Craftwise? Looks at my scrapbooking stash and I think adhesive and photos with the occasional cardstock and page protector replenishment and I'll be fine. And tbh - there are plenty of printed photos to work from... I haven't been doing much sewing but again, I have a stash and several projects all lined up with supplies already so... Books - I've been purchasing used for years and/or reading free on Libby or Amazon FirstReads. I need to read more and donate as I go. I have ZERO excuse to buy any books. I probably need to pick up a couple of bras but I could also fix the couple that are in the mending pile and that's likely my first step. Otherwise, the only clothing I need are new shoes (and those are a need not a want) |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Aug 5, 2025 16:34:43 GMT
I *love* to travel, but I'm working on accepting that it's just not going to be as accessible or affordable to regular folks for numerous reasons in the years ahead. Front load the top destinations while we still can, instead of assuming, "We'll be able to do that when DH retires." Road trip every couple years is feeling more realistic. Everything has gotten less affordable. We bought a camper in 2020 (yes, I get that gas prices were not normal) and we thought that camping would be a good way for us to travel over the next few years. That we'd get to spend more time doing so than if we took more expensive vacations. That we could pack our own food and avoid eating out. Well, we went camping this past weekend to a family reunion near Akron, Ohio. From Lansing, Michigan to Akron, Ohio, and back with a 4 wheeler in the truck bed and our trailer behind, Jeremy's GMC Sierra needed to be filled up three time. More than $300 *for gas*. I was blown away. Next month we are set to have our one real camping vacation to the UP. It's almost twice as far as Akron, Ohio. And I've planned $600 for gas. That seems insane. This is a *cheap* vacation. If I must buy something, I do my best to find it second-hand. I am losing weight and I've been scouring the thrift stores for clothing. Our biggest issue is food waste. Even now. Mine too. I am trying to get super creative in how I plan meals. I mean wasting is no good on the regular, but now that we often eat two different things, it's even more imperative. I have also talked to our immediate family about a reduction of holiday spending and an increase on spending holiday time together. I want to broach this with my family. I don't think we need to do a gift exchange at all (to be fair, I have been on that bench for years), let alone while the tariffs are so crazy. Yarn, I have enough for a good, long while. Fabric, I have a bunch, but I'll need things like backing, binding, thread. I'm not planning to buy any focal fabrics for a bit. Books? I am a regular at the library already. So I can seriously reduce my "play" costs. Tariffs shouldn't affect Jeremy's golf game either. So at least we'll have that. I would get rid of my car but Jeremy won't agree to that. I work in office two days a week and the bus is two blocks over from my house and goes to two blocks from my office building. I don't feel comfortable driving his big truck and he doesn't want to have to take me places. I told him for the cost of my payment + my insurance, I can get a lot of Ubers. But's he's still not agreeable. |
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Post by Merge on Aug 5, 2025 19:51:46 GMT
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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 5, 2025 20:25:07 GMT
Welp I am not even worried (I actually am) but DH might be having open heart surgery in the near future and all I can think about is what are we going to do when that happens. Tomorrow I'm afraid is D-Day.. it's when we meet with the doctor to figure this all out and what to do. So yeah....
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Aug 9, 2025 15:42:23 GMT
I have a lot of family-related expenses that I cannot cut back on, so I cut back on anything I can related to my own wants and needs.
I have been very fortunate this summer in the garden. Some years everything fails. This year, I have been lucky with summer squash, cucumbers, pole beans, Big Boy tomatoes, jalapenos, long hot peppers, basil, rosemary, & thyme.
Some things did fail, like the carrots and bell peppers didn't do so great, but that's okay.
My meals have incorporated these for weeks now. I have frozen quite a bit as well.
I have stopped getting haircuts, though I'm still getting my kids theirs. It was too expensive to maintain a short cut.
I am taking any hours my work will give me. Unfortunately, my job has been directly affected by tariffs, and the company's response to them (to protect the shareholders' value, obvs), so my hours have been down from last year. But don't worry, this proudly billion dollar company cut our bonuses completely so that those lovely executives could get a pet yacht for their big yachts, so everything is going to be okay!
I only buy meat that is marked down, and use it immediately or freeze it.
Thankfully all of my kids are at an age where they understand that every Christmas can't be a big Christmas.
I am drastically cutting down my coffee intake. And not buying myself chocolate.
I am hang drying anything I can to save on dryer costs.
I pick up discounted or good sale canned items to add to my deep pantry. I budget an extra amount of money for unexpected food sales to pad the pantry with.
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Post by pantsonfire on Aug 9, 2025 17:31:18 GMT
This is why I am so very thankful insurance denied the first brand of IgG medication for DD because it is made in Europe. The one she is on is 100% made here (I asked and researched). I mean it is already $10,000 every 4 weeks, roughly $130,000 a year. I can't imagine what it will be with tariffs. Peas, make sure you keep record of all approvals and prior auths. Keep a paper trail. You can use that to fight for continuation of care if insurance denies a previous approved medication. Also look at your insurance plan if you have pharmacy coverage. Look at the max co pay coverage. You can fight any issues with state department of managed healthcare and go to your state's pharmacy board too. And see if you qualify for any coverage help. Like Epi Pens have a program that cover xo pays or up to x amount (I believe $300?). We used it when our insurance made us pay $35 per pack. Now it is 100% covered. But at 6 boxes a year that $35 adds up and it was $0 with the program pharmacy card. |
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Post by pantsonfire on Aug 9, 2025 17:59:01 GMT
Doing what a lot of those who commented are doing.
Stocking up on meats (organic chicken and ground turkey) when on sale or butchers sale (use by date is next day so they need to get it moving and it is 3p% off, sometimes 50%.
Stocking up on pantry items we use regularly when on great sale. Things like basmati rice, black beans, canned green beans, vegetable stock, etc.
I created an inventory of our food plus extra stored items and have boxes for each item next to the name of how many we have to keep track. I put an x in the box when it is used.
Utilizing coupons and rewards programs.
Utilizing food already cooked for next days lunches and dinner to not waste food. If it doesn't get eaten next day, I freeze it in my Souper Cubes for quick dinners or lunch.
Shopping multiple stores to take advantage of sales. Aldi for a lot of produce then Stater Bros and Albertson's.
Keep track of food prices to see who has the best sale price and if it is worth stocking up.
Utilizing food saver to keep meat longer in freezer.
Planning needed stops to not waste gas. Though gas here continues to go down slowly.
The only big hit we will take is a new vehicle. My van is 13 yrs old and has a crack. It has less than a year before it will be a big issue. We are looking at November purchase. We may lease. The payment will be quite low at about $400-450 (depends on interest rate at the time). Then after a few years buy it.
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Post by Scrapper100 on Aug 9, 2025 18:28:09 GMT
Bought a couple of packs of toothpaste at Sam’s since P&G have said prices are gojng up. I checked the dates and they are in 2027 so we will use before then.
I watched a video with the head of spellbinders and he said they are waiting to hear if they will continue to get a partial exemption on some tariffs but currently they will be going up mid month. Not sure I completely understood it but figure I will buy what I planned a little earlier. I am cutting back on crafts but planned to buy two die sets next month but will buy them next week instead. Buying SU! Not spellbinders but assume it’s a similar thing. SU was at the same mtg in DC from what I understand.
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Post by pantsonfire on Aug 9, 2025 19:10:02 GMT
Bought a couple of packs of toothpaste at Sam’s since P&G have said prices are gojng up. I checked the dates and they are in 2027 so we will use before then. I watched a video with the head of spellbinders and he said they are waiting to hear if they will continue to get a partial exemption on some tariffs but currently they will be going up mid month. Not sure I completely understood it but figure I will buy what I planned a little earlier. I am cutting back on crafts but planned to buy two die sets next month but will buy them next week instead. Buying SU! Not spellbinders but assume it’s a similar thing. SU was at the same mtg in DC from what I understand. I am going to hold of on any new stamps and dies. They are already costly as is and with the tariffs they are going to go way up. The only want I have is a nice sentiment stamp and die set but that could be a gift for Christmas. And I am good on papers and embellishments for awhile. When my tape goes on sale on Amazon, I stock up so good there. The one area we are having a hard time cutting is streaming services. We use them a lot but man the yearly cost is outrageous. We have Disney, Netflix, Prime, and Discovery. $62 a month. |
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